Gatekeeper
by 4fireking
Summary: Commission from Lynarg and outside da box. In what should have been a normal Akuma hunt, Allen and his friends met a human with a special gift. But he uses his gift against the Black Guild. It's up to them to break back in. But he's not someone who will go down easy.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a collaboration story written by 4fireking, Lnyarg, and outside da box. I don't know it will continue but it was fun working with them. I hope I'm not too busy. **

XXX

Allen Walker, a fifteen year old Exorcists, was that last of the trio to get off of the train before it departed. Timcanpy was tucked under his exorcist hood, out of view from the rest of the people of the train platform. Vaguely, he watched the steam rise from the train pipes as the engine started up again. As quickly as the train had come to drop them off, it was gone. Allen turned his attention back to the other two.

Kanda and Lenalee where both looking at the town they were going to search. Lenalee, with a pleasant aura, and Kanda with an air of barely disguised contempt. Allen signed in annoyance at the other male exorcist, the mission hadn't even begun yet and here Kanda was making it harder for everyone else.

" This is the place, supposedly a demon lives here." Lenalee looked around at the rather normal looking city.

People walked to and fro, making their way through their lives as though nothing was wrong. Allen knew what everyone wasn't saying here, this was a far cry from what they had heard in the mission briefing.

" Well, there have been rumors about this town for several months now." Komui's words came back to him.

Allen wasn't quite sure what to think of this mission when he'd been given it. First off, he was once again being paired with Kanda. Things were bound to be difficult by those standards alone. Second, this mission had a eerie reminiscence to the incident where he had met Krory.

" Basically, a demon has been said to have come to the town and began ruling it with it's powers." Komui told them as both he, Kanda, and Lenalee looked through the details that their mission report gave.

Allen sighed, there wasn't really much else in there. Basically just rumors that were being told since the town didn't have many major dealing with other towns. Their location was just to distant and, even with the railway, people just didn't seem to go there a lot.

" Are you sure that the rumors aren't just exaggerations of some noble or official?" Kanda questioned.

Allen could already tell Kanda thought that the rumors were baseless, thus a waste of time. Lenalee knocked him on the head with her own mission report.

" It's a secluded area, so there's always a possibility that the rumors are true. We can't just dismiss them out right. Besides, why haven't there been any finder reports?" Her attention turned to Komui.

He coughed, as though embarrassed by the question.

" Well, the truth is that as soon as outsiders started questioning them the towns people ran them out. So that's something that you're going to have to avoid. If people ask why you're there you'll need to make up another reason."

" Another... Reason? Like what?" Allen pressed the man for clearer instructions, unsure of how to make up any sort of cover story.

" Oh, you know..." Komui suddenly seemed very interested in looking at the mission report then addressing Allen.

" Brother..." Lenalee sighed.

The idea of a city in the iron grip of an evil demon seemed strange enough the first time he heard it. Now looking at the city, Allen was even more skeptical about the rumors. People walked to and from work and places to eat since it was noon. Nobody seemed like they were under an iron fist. Still, why go to such lengths as to chase away the finders. Could there be something to hide?

" My, my, looks like we have some new travelers here. Care for some fresh fruits." Allen looked towards the shall where an old woman was indeed selling fruits.

" Yes! I'm starving. What do have here? -Huh!?" Allen jolted when he saw the prices of the fruit, they were unbelievable.

" Oh, the prices are higher here then in other areas. A lot of the food is brought in buy train." She reassured him.

Normally, Allen would been able to believe such a thing. But the food prices here were three times the normal rate of any fruit he'd ever seen being sold, anywhere. There was only so much you could charge for something before the price became ridiculous. Lenalee had come over to see why Allen had been stunned, and quickly followed suit with his reaction.

" Are the prices like this everywhere in town!?" She cried.

Sure, exorcists had pretty much everything paid for them by the Black Order. But if the charges for everything were going to be unreasonably high, then even Komui was going to have a problem. Judging by the old woman's flustered expression, it seemed that the cost of living here was quite high.

" Listen. If you buy a bundle of fruit instead of one or two, then I'll give you a discount. Just buy something, and don't make a scene." The seller didn't seem particular angry with them, just worried.

Allen's stomach rumbled, he was really hungry. Hungry enough to eat a whole bundle of fruit. So he agreed to the deal. After words, the woman motioned for them to go on.

It was, to Allen's disbelieve and horror, normal for the prices to be sky high in this town. Nothing was priced normally, and everyone selling strongly insisted that this was because of things being brought in via train. The more it was said, the less Allen believed it. The other two Exorcists were of the same mind, it was pretty bad when Allen found himself and Kanda agreeing on something.

" They're hiding something." He gave when Lenalee asked him for his thoughts.

It was odd the see Kanda be remotely nice to anyone. But even though he was still as quiet as usual, he didn't seem angry about having to answer Lenalee's question.

" The problem is that if we ask them directly, we'll be run out of town. We have to find another way to get this information." She sighed.

Their efforts for that whole day seemed to be looking around the entire town. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary until the three hit a path that seemed to be going towards a mansion.

" You three! Stop!" a young woman called after them.

They all stopped, she hurried over to them quickly. She had brown hair, cut to neck length, and wore a rather old looking servant dress. She scowled as she looked at the three of them.

" That's the ruling Noble's house, you can't just go there without permission." She chided them all.

" Ah! Really? We weren't familiar with the area, so we got lost." Lenalee said quickly.

" Yeah, well now you know. There are punishments for those who trespass on those lands." She stared at them when she finished. No, Allen decided it was more of a glare.

" I-I see..." Lenalee said.

Then woman continued to glare at them.

" Is something the matter?" Lenalee asked nervously.

" I just told you you're not allowed there, so why aren't you leaving?" She asked the trio.

Allen felt the killer intent in the woman's gaze. She wasn't going to be content with just telling them about the danger. No, she was going to make sure they went back to town. After a few more moments, that's what they did. Well, Lenalee had to grab Kanda and drag him along. He'd never been content with being ordered to do something.

Finally, they managed to get an inn for the night.

" Of all the places we checked, the mansion is the most likely place for any mysterious things to happen." Lenalee pondered, as the sat around a table.

The first floor of the inn doubled as a restaurant, so they all come to eat dinner there. The next course of action seemed to be pretty clear, sneak into the mansion to see what was going on. Or at least it had been. Before Allen could get started on a second course, what seemed like an earthquake rocked the entire building. Thought the sound suggested that an explosion occurred nearby.

Running outside, the trio saw that something had crashed into a nearby building. Allen hurried over, Innocence activated, to the site. The others followed as well, Lenalee soon getting ahead of them with her dark boots.

It seemed to be a general store with a house at the top. Allen could hear the screams of a man upstairs.

" Please! Please!." Was he begging for his life?

Allen had expected an Akuma to be in there, attempting to murder innocent people. The door was kicked open, Allen burst in. Lenalee was there, grabbing to small children and jumping them to safety, but she hadn't managed to grab the man.

The shock that hit him seemed to be paralyzing, because the scene was all wrong. There wasn't an Akuma attacking the man. It was another human.

" Please sir! I'll pay the taxes soon! Please, don't kill me!" The man pleaded.

The other simply smirked as his plight, right before he killed him.

" I don't give second chances." he said to what was left of the man's body.


	2. Chapter 2

**This is now a collaboration story of 4fireking and KillerAkuma. I have been in dark places when people bully me because I don't think or care the way they do, but if I can at least put together something with someone that will at least be read I will be fine. **

XXX

Allen was stuck to the spot as he stared at the boy in front of him. That boy… he had just killed another man without hesitation. The boy looked up at Allen, who was still standing in the same spot, frozen. The boy put an innocent look on his face, like he hadn't just killed someone in cold blood. "Why hello, who may you be?"

Allen was a little dumbfounded at what had just happened, and found himself unable to answer, instead choking on his words as he tried to spit them out. The boy walked back into the shadows, slowly disappearing, chuckling as he vanished into the darkness that enveloped him. "We'll meet again."

Lenalee returned from finding someone or somewhere to keep the children safe, confusion written all over her face. Allen was staring off into space, confused and horrified, but snapped out of it when Lenalee spoke. "Allen, what happened…? Did you kill the Akuma?"

Allen's face was wiped of all emotions as he spoke, eyes dulled considerably and mouth pressed into a straight line. "It wasn't an Akuma, Lenalee… It was a boy. I didn't see what he looked like because his face was hidden by the shadows."

"Was he a member of the Noah Family?" Kanda asked, not sure as to what exactly had happened, as the frozen Allen has blocked his path through the doorway.

"I-I don't know," Allen stammered, shrugging. He couldn't tell the Noah apart from humans with his left eye, and he hadn't gotten a proper look at the boy. "And then he vanished when he stepped into the shadows."

Kanda narrowed his dark eyes at the Moyashi. "So that means you imagined it, or you hit your head."

Allen narrowed his eyes in return to Kanda's cold look, yelling at him, sure of what he had seen. "I didn't imagine it, BaKanda! He was over there!"

Allen pointed at the exact, shadowy spot where the boy vanished, and Kanda was about to pull out Mugen when Lenalee jumped into the argument, acting as the peacekeeper. "Both of you stop arguing! If Allen said he saw it, then he did. Now we just have to worry about whether we can find this vanishing boy or not, got it?"

Allen, Kanda, and Lenalee all looked around town for the boy Allen saw. They asked everyone in town if they saw or had ever seen the boy, but no one had seen him. It wasn't helpful that the trio of Exorcists didn't have much information to provide, either. Some people in the town even showed Lenalee, the only one who could persuade them to do so, pictures of people they knew. None of them looked like the boy Allen saw. After asking around town they decided that maybe they should check with the police.

Allen, Lenalee and Kanda arrived at the police station; it was quiet, with only a couple policemen and women being seen, five or six at the most. Lenalee walked over to one of the men, who appeared to be in his early thirties. He looked at Lenalee with a tired look in his dark brown– nearly black –eyes, his voice deep and rough and he pushed a hand through his sandy brown hair. "What is it ya want, little lady?"

Lenalee did her best to smile politely. Normally the people who would call her 'little lady' were the weirdos of the town. She would have to be careful as she talked to this man. "Um… Have you seen strange boy around lately?" Lenalee asked, while carefully keeping her distance from the man. She didn't want to get too close.

The man scratched his chin in thought as he looked at the others, his dark eyes scanning over their Black Order uniforms, eyes staying glued to the silver crest on their chests. "Um... No, I don't think I have little lady, sorry… But you could ask the others, maybe they have."

The three of them split to talk to the policemen and see what they knew, but Allen didn't really think it was a good idea to let Kanda talk to people on his own. He had a habit of threatening for information.

Allen walked over to a lady, who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. Her deep green eyes moved to Allen as he drew closer, the dark bags beneath then showing her weariness. She smiled faintly at Allen even though she look like if she moved or the wind hit her she would collapse to the ground like a puppet without strings. She was working on her tangled auburn hair with her fingers, trying to get the knots out by picking at them with her nails. Her voice was quiet as she spoke, only just above a whisper, making Allen lean in slightly to hear her. "Yes, did you wish to ask me something, boy?"

Allen looked at her for a little longer before answering her. "Have you seen a strange boy wondering around at night or anything?"

The lady paused, hands dropping from her hair, before she began to play with her slender, pale fingers as she looked at the crest on his chest, her left eye twitching slightly. "N-no… I haven't, sorry… Please excuse me."

With that the lady folded her hands before her and walked away, her strides fast and hurried as if she was running from something or someone. This caused curiosity to flash into Allen's mercury eyes as he looked at his comrades talk to other people, waiting for them. "Again? How many times do we have to ask every man and woman on the scene before we realize we walked into the wrong building?"

Allen tapped his chin in thought, thinking hard about what was happening. 'Well, there must be someone who knows about the boy we're talking about. Some of the police offices seemed too quick to tell us something, but also flustered as though they were making it all up; you could tell by their body movements and tone of voice. The lady I talked to played with her hair and fingers, and kept eyeing the crest on my chest, and her voice was quiet like she was scared to speak up or that she was worried that someone would hear her. This just keeps getting more and more interesting.'

Allen was snapped from his thoughts by Lenalee touching his shoulder, a small smile gracing her delicate face.

"I have good news for you, Allen," she told him. "Can you listen to what I have to say and not stand around thinking?" She placed her hands on her hips, narrowing her violet eyes at him slightly.

Allen shook his head to gain concentration, before he gave her a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "Sorry, Lena. What is it?"

"One officer that Kanda talked to– threatened, actually–" Lenalee glared at Kanda for a moment, before looking back at Allen and continuing her story, "thinks he knows who the boy you saw is. His name is Sephtis. He's responsible for more than one murder."

Allen nodded his head, his left hand clenching shut into a fist before opening as he relaxed them. "Well… We'll have to find this Sephtis, and see why he's killing these people."

Allen looked at Lenalee then at the grouchy teen standing behind her with a scowl on his narrow face, his slightly tanned hand on the hilt of his Japanese sword, Mugen.

"The only reason I'm helping you two find this Sephtis is because I will be the one to stop him from killing more people." Allen had to wonder if violence was the only thing that changed Kanda's mind.

Lenalee rolled her eyes at Kanda as Allen narrowed his silver eyes at the Japanese swordsman. "So, where are we supposed to find this Sephtis then?"


	3. Chapter 3

**There won't be many updates of this story and it probably won't finish because KillerAkuma and I couldn't work continuously to finish it. I do hope you enjoy this first chapter though. **

XXX

Lenalee, Allen and Kanda were soon walking outside of town. Lenalee's directions were what brought them to this area. She told them how people tell stories of seeing Sephtis watching over the city for some reason.

Allen and Kanda were really confused when moments later Lenalee started crying, both males not knowing what to do, ending up just standing there and looking at her, exchanging a short glance of confusion. Allen then saw movement, turning in that direction before slowly and cautiously making his way over there, finding that a dark figure stood where the movement had been, so obviously he hadn't been standing at that spot for very long. The figure started talking to Allen. "They called you out here to face me, didn't they?"

Allen narrowed his mercury eyes at the figure, clenching his left hand reflexively as he spoke. "Yes, they did…"

Kanda and Lenalee were ready for a fight to commence, as was Allen. The three of them stood together, watching the boy's figure. Sephtis walked like a snail and a cat all at once–he moved slowly, like a snail, but his steps were moving in front after front like he was standing on a wall, just like the quiet steps of a cat stalking its prey.

Kanda had Mugen already unsheathed, and stood in fighting position with his dark eyes on Sephtis, watching every single one of his slow steps. Lenalee stood with her Dark Boots glowing, ready to strike, Allen standing just a few paces ahead of her with his left hand placed over his heart, the gem on the back of his hand glowing green. Allen took the slightest step forward towards Sephtis as he spoke, his curiosity clear in his demanding tone. "Why do you kill the innocent? You aren't an Akuma...So why?"

"You're right when you say I'm not an Akuma. However, I know all about those dumb things. I know all about them flying in the air, the way they shoot, about the Millennium Earl, the man who created them. And of course I know about that left hand of yours. Can I not just hate Akuma and humans alike? You may think because you're not the same as the Akuma I would respect you more… Well, I don't. If you want to kill me, then go ahead and kill me."

Allen's eye brows scrunched together as he looked at Sephtis, most of Sephtis' body shaded from the shadows that danced across his body, blocking his appearance from Allen's grey orbs. Allen moved the slightest bit closer, Kanda and Lenalee standing firm in their fighting stances as they eyed him, Allen with his head tilted to the side the slightest. "Why do you hate humans and Akuma to the same extent?"

"It has to do with something called tuberculosis. I would tell you who had it, but that would just spoil the fun. The first strike is always the one that gives everyone the most joy; you don't trip and you don't fall because your excitement is either high or very low."

"But I don't understand... Why do you kill humans if they have never done anything wrong to you? That's not right! So why?!" Lenalee had a frown gracing her doll-like features as her Dark Boots deactivated, taking one step forward so she was standing next to Allen.

"Lena, don't get to close." Allen said while holding his left arm out in front of her, preventing her from moving any closer.

"They have done things to me. That person who had tuberculosis… that person lived. He lived and someone died. The death wasn't an accident, and after dying the person who was living tried to bring the dead back. Another person who knew the Millennium Earl could have stopped that someone with tuberculosis from going to Millennium Earl, but they chose not to."

"Did you make a deal with the Millennium Earl, Sephtis? If so, I can relate, in some way…" Allen looked away from Sephtis, his gaze falling to the ground as his hand fell over his left cursed eye in the same manner.

Sephtis took Allen's distraction as an opening, an opening to lop his white-haired head off. He firmly grasped a sword with both of his hands.

Kanda, noticing this, lunged forward with his katana blocking the stupid Moyashi from getting his head lopped off. A slight growl escaped Kanda's lips, the sound directed at Allen, whose head snapped up. "You better learn to dodge by yourself, Moyashi!"

Allen's eyes narrowed at the swordsman, and then his glare slowly over to Sephtis, who had his eyes narrowed at Kanda in a deathly stare.

"You seem like the kind of boy who doesn't hold onto friendships believing they will hold you back," Sephtis growled, straining against Mugen with his own sword.

"Che, you would be correct." Kanda pushed Sephtis away from him before pointing Mugen at him, his dark eyes narrowed.

"I know absolutely no one like you. Do you know why that is? Before, it was everyone was too afraid to stand up to me… It was everyone would never think about getting stronger or being the best alone. Excuse my big monologue but when I tell you these stories I won't stop, even if you try to swing your weapon a thousand times, even if you try to kill me. It starts with us babies, who are born not very cute; we grow up by being tough, but never using all the strength we got from burdensome times. Our transformation was the opposite of babies as we got cuter and– every day –no matter how cute we were, we were still expected to look after ourselves from a very young age.

We are forced to find food, find warmth, and do anything to stay alive, even if it means killing those around you. So many of us are thrown away like trash that is just forgotten in an alleyway, or lost to the busy streets. Sometimes there is that one person who– no matter on your appearance or how you act –will take you in, even if you threaten them or try to push them away. They stay by your side, trying to make you like them, or maybe even love them.

Eventually you cave into the warmth and safety they give you, but then something or someone harms that very person that brought the smallest bit of hope and light into your life. Whether it be an accident or not, it doesn't matter because that person is still gone, and no matter what and when you find that one person you think can bring that person back… they can't, because there is always something you gain and something you lose when you make deals, whether it be your freedom or life.

I was a fool… but doing what I do now makes me forget everything, because at the end of the day… it doesn't change who I am and what I do." Giving Kanda the longest monologue he'd ever heard helped Sephtis in his next attack.

Sephtis gripped his sword with an iron grip as he brought the weapon back and swung at the dazed Kanda, Allen only just pushing the samurai out of the way of the swing. Sephtis cursed a little as his grip faulted the slightest.

It was a good thing for him that he had the chance to go after Lenalee. Sephtis ignored Kanda as he lunged at Lenalee, sword raised as he brought it down on her. Lenalee was prepared for his attack; she only pretended to be helpless.

Sephtis had the blade of the sword inches from her head but stopped when he felt something kick him hard in the chest, making him fly backwards and erupt into coughing fit once back on the ground. Allen and Kanda moved to join Lenalee moments after she kicked Sephtis hard. He wasn't prepared, and that cost him a powerful kick in the chest.

But something weird happened after he was kicked.

Sephtis was hunched on the ground coughing, looking at them with slightly narrowed green eyes as he used his sword to push himself off the ground with some struggle. Kanda honestly found his struggling to be the most pathetic thing he had ever seen.

Sephtis, reading Kanda's expression and body language, could tell that Kanda thought he was weak. After Sephtis could stand up without using the sword to help him did he speak, his voice raspy from the coughing fit. "Well… That didn't help my condition, or me as a matter of fact."

He wiped away the small trail blood that ran down his chin, his gaze falling to the crimson blood that stained the skin on his finger. Lenalee felt sorry for Sephtis, even though she knew he was a cold-hearted killer. Sephtis wiped the blood onto his clothes, leaving a small red smudge on his shirt as he looked at Lenalee, eyes narrowed. "Don't give me that look!"


End file.
